Dob in a Snowy litterer

March 27, 2014, midnight

Litterers in the Snowy River Shire are set for a wake up call as a new $50m program is launched to fight litter and litterers in Australia.

Litterers in the Snowy River Shire are set for a wake up call as a new $50m program is launched to fight litter and litterers in Australia. The plan will see local residents able to 'dob' in littering Aussies and a new hot-spot scheme to support the Snowy River Shire community clean up the neighbourhood.

The 2013 National Litter Index shows that 61 litter items and 10.15 litres of litter volume per 1000m2 were dumped across survey sites in NSW. In comparison, the national average is 56 litter items and 6.13 litres of litter volume per 1000m2.

If we take that rate of littering and apply it to every 1000m2 across NSW, Australians living in the state would have dumped enough litter to fill 3,250 Olympic-size swimming poolsi between 2012-2013.

The National Packaging Covenant Industry Association (NPCIA) has partnered with Keep Australia Beautiful, the acknowledged expert on litter, to launch Australia's Litter Action Plan in a bid to reduce the overall litter rate volume across the country by 20 per cent by 2025.

Minimising motorists' litter is an integral part of the 10 year Litter Action Plan. A national hotline, an online reporting website and a mobile app will be created to encourage responsible Australians to dob in a litterer. A 24/7 call centre will also be established to take phone calls.

Stan Moore, CEO of the NPCIA said, "It's time to get tough on Snowy River Shire residents who think it's okay to toss rubbish from their cars and expect other people to cover the cost of cleaning it up. We're calling on all Australians to do the right thing and dob in a litterer. This will go a long way towards tackling a problem which is costly, difficult and dangerous to clean up."

Over the next decade, industry will invest $5 million per year in initiatives designed to address the three core pillars of littering behaviour change: Education; Infrastructure and Enforcement.

"By providing the right infrastructure for Snowy River Shire residents to deposit their litter and by making it unacceptable in society to litter by taking action against those who do, we can have a lasting impact," Mr Moore said.

"If Snowy River Shire residents are concerned about the litter problem in their local area, they should visit www.dotherightthing.com.au/register-hot-spot and register it as a litter hot-spot."